ENGLAND IN WAR TIME

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2674, 21 January 1916, Page 9

ENGLAND IN WAR TIME

INTERESTS OBSERVATIONS , BY A RETURNED NEW ZEAi LANDER. | Amongst those who .returned to Now Ze.ila.ud yestewiky by the It.M.S. Taintti was Mr. A, M. Ferguson, Belgian Consul a± A.wcklnid, who witli his wife and family lias been in England for the past two years. Mr, Ferguson is a director of ti* well-known Auckland

film of John Burns and Co., Limited, wholesale inon, steel, and hardware merchants, and his mission to England •was mainly in the interests of the firm's business. Ho, however, found time for more than, purely business affairs, and as Belgian Consul in New . 'Zealand, he very naturally, after the war fcsroko out, was a good deal in -touch with the Belgian authorities in Engiand. In conr-ersation with a Dominion' reporter yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ferguson. chatted about the conditions pvevaffimg at Home and 4 general affairs. He was in England when the war broke out, and was one of the huge crowd osisido Buckingham Palaco which made such a loyal demonstration that the King and Queen came out on to the balcony, 'their appearance being the occasion of an ovation that would liye for ever in Mr. Ferguson's memory.' London and Paris Compared. Whilst the war has been proceeding, Mr- Ferguson journeyed through France to the llivieru, and on to Italy. London at night is <iuite dark; Paris, on.the other hand, is brilliantly,,lighted, except when word of an a.ir raid is received. At these' times the fire-en- ■ gines traverse the various departments sounding their alarm, which is the authorised signal, and then off go all lights, and the whole city is shrouded in darkness. In both cities there is, of course, a great preponderance of men in uniform, but a further marked feature in Paris is the great prevalence of women in mourning. This does not necessarily imply that more French ■women have been Bereaved than would appear to bo the case with Englishwomen, for it has to be borne in mind that. the French put on mourning not only for near relations, but also for what we would consider very remote (ionnections. Generally, Paris struck Mi'. Ferguson as being a very quiet place as compared with the Paris of his recollections of a former visit. What Struck him, particularly, was the earnestness of tne French people, and he came away with an entirely different opinion to what he had previously entertained of tho French nation. French In Deadly Earnest. "There is no doubt," said Mr. Ferguson, "that the French people are in deadly earnest, and they did have the idea that we. were iio't sufficiently in earnest'; but since then Britain has dona a groat deal, and tho popular opinion in Franco is mostly changed. In London there is no visible sign ol the effects of the war, but in' Paris . are to be seen the elfects of tho menace of the German Army in the earlydays of the conflict. Coming to the gates of the city, the absence of the ' once glorious rows of trees in the houle- ' vard, which were cut down ..to clear the • view, is at once noticeable, whilst the • earth works which were thrown up in preparation of active defence, are there 1 as a grim testimony of the danger that threatened." I . \' - Fine Physique of Italians.

All down the liiviera, said Mr. Ferguson, the hotels were deserted by ordinary occupants, but all the most favourably situated ones had beein converted into hospitals for sick and wounded soldiers, and in the sunny places soldiers of all kinds could' be seen moving about. "When I was in Italy," said Mr. Ferguson, "they were on the brink of coining into 'the war on the side of the Entente. The final decision had not been made ; i>ut there was no doubting the enthusiasm of the populace for the cause of .the Allies. Whatever tho politicians might have thought, it was the will of the people that Italy should come in on the side of Britain and the Allies. I was much struck with the physique and deportment of the Italian soldier."

No trouble was experienced in travelling in France and Italy and Switzerland, but when it came to a desire to go to Belgium or anywhere in the vicinity of tho fighting line the tourist was up against a brick wall. No permits were allowed, and, of course, without the permit one could not' get any further. Air Raids in London. The air raids in London have been very real, but according to Mr. Ferguson they were regarded by the people as something in the nature of a performance put on for their entertainment. Tho air defences of London and Paris are now very completo, and there is but little danger of any serious raid from the air being made oh these cities or their environs. Mr. Ferguson was an eye-witness of one raid, with its attendant air engagement. He was in Piccadilly Circus at tho time. The Zeppelin could be distinctly seen, and had the appearance of a yard-long cigar. The invading airship was attacked by the defending aeroplanes, the scene being one of an awful grandeur never to be forgotten. Piccadilly was thronged with tenfe' of thousands of peoplo, all intent on watching the air duel. -The orders of the authorities are that when the alarm of an air raid is given the populace must go to underground cellars for safety. On this night none thought of the danger; all were intent on the grim engagement going on overhead. Nothing could bo seen coming from the Zeppelin, but her bombs wefe being dropped all the same, and with dire results, too, but from tho defending aeroplanes came burst after burst of shrapnel, which lit up tho heaveus. That night there were many deaths, but in the great majority of cases accident was due solely to want of observance of ordinary safety precautions! The nenispapqrs contain only the briefest accounts of these raids, but occasionally fuller particulars can be gleaned from the reports of inquefits. Fore-Knowledge of Raids. Tho precautions against air raids, Mr. Ferguson said, are now very complete, so complete, indeed, that their coming is known from two to three hours beforehand. The evening trains to Woolwich ae rcrowded with voluntary workers going to the arsenal, but occasionally this army of workers is immediately dispatched home again, the reason being that an air raid for that night lias been delected. In this way, should a bomb find a vulnerable spot, the loss of ifo would be minimised.- Some idea of tho force of the explosion of a bomb dropped from an iarship may be gathered from tho fact that at Le.vdonstonc, near London, Mr. Ferguson saw a hole mado in a roadway big enough to bury a horse and cart, and alongside a gateway with granite pillars two feet in diameter shattered to chips. Manufacturing Business Affected. The war, says Mr. Ferguson, is having an effcct on tho manufacturing business of Great Britain. Raw material is hard to procure, and when it is manufactured it is very difficult to get it railed to a port, all train services being in the hands of the military authorities. Again, when it is got to tho dock there is a. great shortage of freights. Most, of tho iron manufaeti)!'' ing concerns hava hsea converted into

munition works, and from 80 to 00 per cent, of those engaged in the industry are now employed as munition work-

Mr. Ferguson was in frequent communication with the Belgian ConsulGcneral in London, who expressed amazement and deep thankfulness at the wonderful response New Zealand had made to the appeal for funds to assist his fellow-countrymen. Feeling In Favour of Conscription. Before Mr. Ferguson left England ou his return to New Zealand, ho saw indications on all sides of the near approach of'conscription. People at Home, lie said, have no doubt as to the outcome of the war. They are quite sanguine, hut amongst those with whom he camo in contact there was a unanimity that the end could not ho achieved without conscription in some form. The working classes, or a section of them, were honestly opposed to any such system, but tho impression Mr. Ferguson formed was that tho vast majority of

the people had come to the conclusion that it was useless longer to temporise and that compulsion, general or partial, must he resorted to. This boing so, he was not surprised £o learn on arrival at Hobart that a Bill to that effect had reached its second reading stage in the House of Commons. '